Recessed Mold Transfer for Precise LED Element Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for manufacturing display devices face challenges in accurately aligning light emitting elements on substrates, leading to misalignment and product defects due to the attraction of light emitting elements by lower insulating layers and dielectric configurations, which affects luminance and manufacturing yield.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus and method utilizing a mold with recessed portions corresponding to the arrangement of light emitting elements, where a doctor blade removes excess ink, and a compressor aligns elements on substrate electrodes, aided by vibrational and electric field techniques to ensure precise placement and separation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If light emitting elements are applied directly to the substrate without a mold structure, then the manufacturing process is simpler, but misalignment occurs due to attraction by lower insulating layers and dielectric configurations
Solution Approach 1:
A mold structure is introduced as an intermediary component between the light emitting elements and the substrate. The mold includes recessed portions that physically guide and confine the light emitting elements during placement, preventing misalignment caused by electrostatic attraction to the substrate's insulating layers. This mediator resolves the contradiction by providing mechanical alignment support without complicating the overall manufacturing flow.
Solution Approach 2:
The mold structure is prepared in advance with recessed portions configured to match the desired arrangement of light emitting elements. By pre-configuring the mold with these alignment features before the light emitting elements are applied, the system ensures precise placement without requiring complex real-time control mechanisms, thus maintaining manufacturing simplicity while achieving high precision.
2Manufacturing precision
If a mold with recessed portions is used to align light emitting elements, then alignment precision is improved, but the device structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The mold structure implements local quality by providing recessed portions only at specific locations where light emitting elements need to be placed. Rather than making the entire mold complex, only the necessary alignment features are added at critical positions, keeping the overall structure simple while achieving precise alignment where needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The mold is segmented into multiple recessed portions, each corresponding to a specific light emitting element placement location. This segmentation allows each recessed portion to be independently optimized for its specific alignment function, while the overall mold remains a simple planar structure that can be easily manufactured and integrated.
3Productivity
If excess ink is not removed from the mold surface, then the process is faster, but light emitting elements become misaligned due to remaining ink
Solution Approach 1:
A doctor blade is introduced to extract and remove excess ink from the mold surface after the light emitting elements have been applied. The doctor blade selectively removes ink from areas outside the recessed portions while leaving the ink within the recessed portions undisturbed, ensuring that light emitting elements remain properly aligned without requiring a complete re-application process.
Solution Approach 2:
The ink removal process is performed rapidly using the doctor blade, which can quickly scrape across the mold surface to remove excess ink in a single pass. This rapid removal minimizes the time added to the manufacturing process while effectively preventing misalignment, allowing the process to rush through the critical ink removal step without sacrificing precision.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution significantly reduces misalignment of light emitting elements, thereby minimizing product defects and enhancing alignment reliability and manufacturing yield by using the recessed mold structure and additional alignment techniques.
Implementation Method 1
a compressor that compresses the surface of the mold to the substrate
Implementation Method 2
a vibrator that vibrates the substrate or the mold to which the ink is applied
Implementation Method 3
The vibrator may be configured to vibrate the mold by generating a sound wave or an ultrasonic wave
Implementation Method 4
an electric field generator that fixes a position of each of the light emitting elements by applying an electric field to the substrate
Implementation Method 5
a dryer that evaporates and removes a solvent of the ink remaining on the surface of the mold or on a surface of the substrate
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for manufacturing a display device includes a stage on which a substrate of the display device is disposed, a mold including a surface including recessed portions, an injector that applies an ink including light emitting elements on the surface of the mold, a doctor blade that removes the ink from the surface of the mold and remains the ink disposed in the recessed portions of the mold, and a compressor that compresses the surface of the mold to the substrate.